President Trump travels to the cyclone NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands on Tuesday, where he announces Iran and Israel have arrived Ceasefire Agreement.
Hours after the ceasefire came into effect, Mr. Trump told reporters that both Israel and Iran violated the summit when he left the summit. Then, after speaking with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the president said Israel will not blow up Iran again and that “the ceasefire will take effect.”
The president hopes to ensure that NATO allies spend at least 5% of their GDP on defense commitments at the summit. But, according to U.S. Ambassador to NATO, Matthew Whitaker, he agreed to increase his defense spending the day before he arrived. He told reporters in a briefing on Monday that NATO is “hopefully” to bring the “historic commitment” to 5 percent due to Trump’s leadership.
The U.S. spent about 3.4% of its GDP on defense in 2023, but the president said he doesn’t think the U.S. should have the same 5% target.
“I believe that in many cases we have been supporting NATO,” he told reporters on Friday. “So, I don’t think we should, but I think NATO countries should definitely.” ”
However, there is no clear commitment timeline, and for some NATO countries, reaching that threshold may extend into the 2030s, sparking criticism that the 5% commitment may be empty.
Apart from the conflict in the Middle East, Russia’s war against Ukraine remains the top topic of concern to NATO members. It is unclear whether the United States will support language with Russia as NATO’s main threat – Whitaker avoids answering reporters’ questions directly.
“The negotiations on the communique are still in progress, so I will not be able to comment directly on specific languages,” Whitaker said, adding: “I fully expect the summit statement to be direct, to point out, and to reflect the current threat assessment of allies and the need for collective and individual defenses for all the allies.” ”
He said the United States is calling for restraint and [urging] Both sides avoided escalation,” he continued, saying the United States was “the highest level” and had direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine.
Shortly before the summit, the United States underwent a strike targeted strike on Saturday Three Iranian ruins Considered to be key Iran’s nuclear program. The move has sparked concerns about a wider war, but Iran’s response was limited on Monday. Iran opens fire More than a dozen missiles Base in Qatar, USAMost of them were intercepted and were not injured, U.S. and Katari officials said.
Mr. Trump called the retaliatory strike “very weak”, saying in another social media post, “Thanks to Iran for giving us early notifications, which makes lifeless loss possible.” Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei also noted in a social media post following the Iran strike: “We did not hurt anyone.”
Within hours, Mr. Trump announced a ceasefire between Iran and Israel and would end the war as soon as possible.
The NATO summit will host a two-and-a-half-hour meeting instead of multiple meetings. Mr. Trump also plans to meet with several world leaders during a conference call on Friday.
The president left the summit early Tuesday morning and returned on Wednesday.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization NATO is the world’s largest defense alliance, which includes 32 members, including the United States, which was formed after World War II and has grown since, with its latest membership being Finland in 2023, in 2023, and Sweden in 2024. Sweden in 2024. Helping Ukraine-Russian invasion is Nato’s priority.
Contributed to this report.
